The NFL Shares the Awards When Racing Did Not

As much as I like and respect Peyton Manning, I believe Adrian Peterson had the best season of anyone in the NFL this year. The majority of voters apparently thought the same thing as his near record breaking season carrying the ball for the Minnesota Viking was rewarded, as he was named MVP of the league, as well as, Offensive Player of the Year. In both cases, Peterson beat out Manning for the award. It’s interesting to note, however; that voters did not leave the Denver Broncos’ quarterback out in the cold. Manning turned the tables on Peterson by beating him out for the Comeback Player of the Year. The sharing of awards is in direct contrast to the 2012 Eclipse Award voting.

As much as I like and respect Wise Dan, I would have had no problem whatsoever if Fort Larned or Little Mike had taken home an Eclipse for their excellent 2012 campaigns. Horse of the Year went to Wise Dan, and deservedly so, but Older Male and Turf Male were awards that could have gone another way. In the end, the voting was not all that close. A runaway winner of the Horse of the Year Award, Wise Dan beat out the Breeders’ Cup Classic winning, Fort Larned, 139 to 109 for the Older Male title. In the Turf Male category, it was even less of a horse race, as Wise Dan took home 170 votes, while Arlington Million and Breeders’ Cup Turf champ, Little Mike only received 78 votes.

Call it the votes falling where they may, but it would seem that the NFL saw the value of splitting the awards between two of their biggest stars, while racing did not.